This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New powers to ensure improvement in schools
06/11/2003
Ministers will be given new powers to intervene where education authorities do not make improvements recommended by school inspectors, under proposed legislation set out today.
And they will also be given extra powers to ensure improvements in independent schools.
Announcing the plans, set out in the consultation paper Ensuring Improvement in our Schools and draft Bill, Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"Three years ago the Parliament agreed a new improvement agenda for our schools and the arrangements put in place then are working well. However, there remain gaps in the system and it is prudent to bridge them now before a child's education is put at risk.
"The first of those gaps concerns the current system of inspection and improvement in publicly-funded schools. If Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) recommends improvements but insufficient action is taken by the education authority, there are no formal steps HMIE or Ministers can take.
"Children's education could suffer as a result. The legislation being proposed today is therefore designed as a last resort to ensure action by education authorities, where HMIE believes its recommendations have not been met. It is not about sending in hit squads or taking over the running of schools; it is about having final powers to require education authorities to drive up standards.
"It is hoped this new power will be used rarely but it will be too late in the future to discover that we need it and do not have it.
"The second gap which needs to be bridged is in relation to independent schools. Existing legislation is out of date - some of it dates back to the 1940s - and modernisation is long overdue.
"So we are proposing changes which will tighten the regulations on the registration of independent schools. Ministers will need much more information on how a school is to be run before they agree to registration. Tougher powers to act quickly when serious concerns are raised about an independent school will also be introduced.
"Taken together, these proposals are a clear demonstration of our commitment to ensure excellence in every Scottish school. Children only get one school education so we need to achieve and maintain the highest standards."
Graham Donaldson, head of HMIE, said:
" I am encouraged by our evidence that Scottish schools and authorities are taking improvement seriously. In that context, the new powers for Ministers can be seen as a prudent safeguard within the overall improvement framework. I entirely share the Minister's hope that the need to use them will be very rare indeed."
They include proposals for education authorities and their schools, grant-aided schools and independent schools.
In relation to education authorities and their schools, Ministers will be able to take action where HMIE considers that Ministerial action is necessary. Inspection reports on authorities and schools will continue to be published, areas for improvement will be recommended and authorities will be given time to address the recommendations.
If HMIE believes an authority has not taken the recommended steps and considers that Ministerial action is required, it will have a duty to refer the matter to Ministers. Ministers will have the power to serve a preliminary notice, requiring a written response from the authority within a specified time. If, after considering the response and consulting HMIE, Ministers believe the authority has not taken the recommended steps, they will have the power to issue an enforcement direction and the authority will be under a duty to comply
It is intended that Ministers will have the same powers in relation to the managers of Scotland's eight grant-aided schools that they will have in relation to education authorities.
In relation to independent schools, the main proposed changes are:
• Changing the legal definition of an independent school so that it is not limited to schools with five or more pupils
• Updating registration procedures so that anyone who wishes to run an independent school has to provide much more information
• Scrapping the concept of provisional registration and instead giving Ministers powers to set conditions on the operation of independent schools.
• Changing complaint procedures so that Ministers can specify an appropriate time limit for action (currently Ministers are required to allow six months).
• Improving appeal procedures and abolishing the rarely used independent schools tribunal.
The consultation runs until January 30, 2004.